Three years ago, Sean Spellman had been to Asheville only once or twice.

But over the past year, the frontman for Portland folk rockers Quiet Life said he felt like he’s been making up for lost time.

“All in all, I spent probably three weeks in Asheville and really got to know the town pretty well,” said Spellman, who compares our city’s natural beauty and enthusiastic artistic community to that of Portland.

“People are so supportive of the music, whether we’re at the Orange Peel or a tiny bar, it feels good.”

Not all the stops, however, have been music-related. Spellman was on his way from New York City to Los Angeles in late February when the year’s biggest snowstorm to date stalled his travel. After witnessing locals sled down Walnut Street on kayaks, once the ice began to melt, he took the band’s vegetable oil-powered van to West Asheville where the mechanics at Dr. Dave’s Automotive upgraded the vehicle’s grease system over a handful of visits.

Touring in support of their stellar 2013 album “Wild Pack,” Spellman (vocals/guitar), his brother Ryan (drums), Thor Robert Jensen (lead guitar) and Philippe Bronchtein (piano) open for Portugal The Man on May 11 at the Peel. On that same stage last October they warmed up the crowd for The Head and the Heart, who, in addition to the Lumineers, form a special kind of club about which Spellman likes to joke.

“We call it ‘the Quiet Life curse.’ We play with bands who’ll open for us, and they’ll go on to be a Billboard Top 100 group,” Spellman said.

Spellman says they’ve never been the sort of band “looking for a crazy, out-of-the-blue break” and are content to play small towns and college towns instead of big cities.

“We personally enjoy seeing more of the country and meeting all kinds of people. For the longevity of the band, that’s always the smartest thing to do,” Spellman said.